For the past ten years, VSA and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc., have teamed up to recognize and showcase emerging artists with disabilities, ages 16–25, who are living in the United States. This collaboration supports these artists at a critical time when many are deciding whether to pursue the arts as a career. The award validates, and helps finance, that life-defining choice.

VSA sent more than 20,000 calls for entry to high schools and colleges around the country, inviting submissions that illustrate the theme Momentum. Participants were asked to examine the creative spark behind their work. What is the force that drives their artistic interest? What informs the path they take each day as they move toward their future? The resulting exhibition showcases the diverse viewpoints and variety of creative processes of these emerging artists as they gain momentum in their artistic trajectories. The artwork on display is an unprecedented opportunity to experience these young artists' works at the inauguration of their careers.

Selected from over 120 submissions, this year's 15 recipients were awarded a total of $60,000 in prize money generously provided by Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.